Whitacre says a million people in Michigan live in neighborhoods with no grocery store nearby. The bank already has three shovel-ready stores in the pipeline that want to open, in Lansing, Southfield, and Detroit.

She hopes to procure a three million dollar federal grant for the bank, to match with money from the Kellogg Foundation and other investors.

Kim Smith lives in Detroit. Last year she opened Kim’s Produce, just a couple blocks over from where her competition will soon set up shop. As a resident of Detroit, she’s excited about Whole Foods coming to town:

"I mean that’s the question on everybody’s mind: When they move to Detroit, where am I gonna shop? So I think it is a really good thing for Detroit."

Fifteen months after it opened, Flint’s first downtown grocery in 30 years is struggling to stay open.

Witherbees Market was intended to serve the needs of people living in downtown Flint. The downtown zone, like many other urban areas in Michigan, has been described as a "food desert", with little access to fruits, vegetables and other fresh food.